Ending Maker Chapter 134
Ending Maker Chapter 134
Chapter 50 - Temple of Life
The Goddess of Life, Aeris.
She was not an Archangel like Solari, but she was a powerful celestial being who held the rank of Seraph, the rank directly below.
When she first revealed herself, the surface world was a completely different place from what it was now.
Danger overflowed in every direction, and disasters like earthquakes and floods continued day after day.
Humans, who had not even managed to found a proper nation, were little more than prey, constantly fleeing the monsters that occupied more than half the continent.
"The benevolent Aeris could not simply leave those humans alone."
In the first place, the reason she had come to the surface was not to care for humans.
It was to stop the demons who were trying to advance into the surface world, and ultimately to protect the heavens.
But at some point she devoted herself even more to protecting and caring for humanity, and humans came to worship her as the benevolent Goddess of Life.
"But just like Solari, Aeris was not eternal either."
The Sun Goddess Solari.
The supreme being.
The most powerful god of humanity.
But she lost her life in a battle against an Infernal Lord, and vanished from the surface world.
Aeris was not much different. The only difference was that her opponent was not an Infernal Lord; she too lost her life after fighting repeatedly to protect humans.
"After Aeris disappeared, the order lost the goddess who had been its center and began to collapse. The demons used their own followers to systematically destroy the Order of Life."
That was not the only cause of its downfall.
After the goddess vanished, the power that the priests of the Order of Aeris could wield was greatly limited, and countless people turned to the orders that still remained strong, seeking greater power, power that would protect them.
"The goddess's death, the demons' relentless attacks, and the mass apostasy that followed...... It was only natural that the Order of Life would eventually fade into history."
The Order of Life disappeared, and people forgot that the order had ever existed.
"But its lineage has not been completely severed yet. The lingering thoughts of Aeris, who loved the humans of the surface... no, her love itself still remains on the surface."
The Temple of Life and the Orb of Life enshrined within it were the proof of that.
"So... are you listening? Cordelia?"
Yuder asked over his shoulder, but no answer came back right away.
"Hey, Cordelia? This is a story you asked about, you know?"
He asked again, but there was no answer this time either.
'It doesn't seem like she's asleep.'
Since he was carrying her on his back, it was hard to see her face, but he could tell that much just from the sound of her breathing.
There was a distinctive way that sleeping people breathed.
'And there's the feel of it when I'm carrying her.'
The difference between carrying a sleeping person and carrying someone who was awake and holding themselves up was also clear.
'Uh... no way, still?'
From leaving the village to here.
At this point, at least a full two hours had passed by rough estimate.
And Yuder's guess was right on the mark.
'What is it? What could it be? What kind of wish is she trying to make?'
Cordelia's worries grew deeper and deeper, and her delusions ran wild in every direction.
'No way? No way, no way?'
The endlessly spreading delusions reached Dahlia, who was sitting in Cordelia's mind.
To be precise, they reached the words Dahlia had said to her.
'He'd want to, wouldn't he? Like, a whole lot?'
A kiss.
Touching lips.
Mouth to mouth.
The thing her older sister Adelia liked so much.
'Lord Yuder is a person too, a person.'
That was true. Yuder was a person too.
And on top of that, as Dahlia had said, he was a man.
And Cordelia was a teenage girl in the prime of her dreams and delusions.
'What if it's real?'
What if Yuder wished for a kiss?
What if he really came out with that?
What if he really asked to kiss?
Cordelia's face turned red. Blood rushed to her head, and her delusions kicked into even higher gear.
In her mind, the kiss scene between Adelia and Gale that she had seen on the day of the engagement ceremony was already replaying, but it had been massively beautified after passing through the filter of a girl's delusions.
'Mmm.......'
Embarrassing. So, so embarrassing.
But.
But somehow, for some reason...
'Ack! No! I have to cut off this thought! It's Yuder! Yuder! Outboxer009!'
The jerk who cursed at me from the first time we met, saying I was shit at the game, and then ran away!
The nasty jerk who teased me every single day after that!
'Right! So there's no way he'd make a weird wish like that! He'll definitely wish for something else!'
If anything, he'd make a wish that would embarrass Cordelia herself.
'Yeah, yeah, that's logical.'
But still.
But still, what if.
The most unlikely of all what-ifs.
'There's a possibility...'
Aaaaaaaaaah!
Cordelia, who had let out a silent scream, worked hard to steady her breathing.
But no matter how hard she tried, her flushed, burning face would not calm down.
'Ugh, whatever! First of all, first of all, I'm a woman who keeps her promises!'
If he asks, I'll do it!
I'll just do it!
It's not like my lips are going to wear out from a little kiss!
It's not like he's a stranger, it's Yuder!
'Yeah, Cordelia. Let's be bold about this!'
She had made a bet and lost, so she would accept the result. No acting like a sore loser—she would take the outcome!
'I can do this!'
As a result of her continuing delusions, Cordelia had already confirmed the wish as a kiss, despite having no real basis for it.
And because of that, new thoughts began to spring up wildly.
'My lips... they're okay, right?'
They're not chapped or anything, right?
She touched them lightly and they were fine. They were soft and moist.
'Wait, what if my breath smells?'
Come to think of it, when did I last brush my teeth? Did I brush after dinner?
'What was on the dinner menu tonight?'
She had definitely eaten at the White Dove Inn.
Braised pork with potatoes and carrots, bread, and... chicken soup!
Cordelia quickly covered her mouth and let out a "haa" breath.
She quickly sniffed with her nose, and she got the feeling that there was a slight smell of pork.
'Ah, no. At this rate, my first kiss is going to taste like braised pork...... wait, wait, wait, wait!'
She had missed something far too important.
Something more important than a braised-pork-flavored kiss!
'F-first kiss!'
It was her first.
The very first. First. Number one.
And the other person was Yuder?
'Wait, so Yuder gets the achievement for my first kiss? He gets first place? Is this another first? Do I really have to let Yuder take first place in this too? Even this?'
Her head cooled down just a tiny bit. But since it was the result of nonsense running wild in the first place, it didn't help much.
'Let's calm down, calm down, Cordelia. Take deep breaths. Count some prime numbers too. Yeah, yeah, let's count primes.'
2, 3, 5, 7, 11...
'Prime numbers are lonely numbers divisible only by one and themselves. They give me courage.'
It helped. As a result of even recalling a line from a comic, she was barely able to calm down.
'Cordelia, Cordelia. Steel your heart. You promised, right? That you'd do anything. So keep your promise like a true gambler!'
Yuder had never actually asked her for a kiss—he had not even uttered the k in 'kiss'—but in Cordelia's head it was already a settled matter.
'Okay, first let's brush my teeth.'
Cleanly.
And freshen up my mouth with the mint I bought a while ago.
Cordelia slowly closed her eyes and let out a long breath.
Without ever dreaming of the fact that Yuder had already called her name several times, she spoke in a calm voice.
"Yuder."
"Cordelia?"
"Yeah, Yuder. I want to brush my teeth."
"Huh?"
Why teeth all of a sudden?
"It's important. I really want to brush them."
When Cordelia spoke again in a voice that somehow even carried a reverent feeling, Yuder furrowed his brow, but soon nodded.
'It's random, but...'
It was hardly the first time Cordelia had acted like this.
And on top of that, they hadn't had a chance to properly wash up after dinner. Her mouth must have felt stale.
'She has to brush before sleeping anyway.'
Yuder, who had nodded, looked off into the distance and answered.
"Just hold on a bit. If we go for about... ten more minutes, there'll be a place to camp."
"Ten minutes?"
"Yeah, ten minutes."
At Yuder's words, Cordelia's heart began to pound wildly.
Ten minutes.
Ten more minutes.
After ten minutes.
Ten minutes from now.
"Cordelia? You're not sick or anything, are you?"
"Huh? Yeah. I'm fine. Totally fine."
"Your breathing... is rough?"
"No. Yeah, no."
Cordelia slowly took deep breaths, and instead of asking more, Yuder increased his running speed.
It was because he thought he should put her down and talk.
And truly, ten minutes later.
Cordelia, who had gotten down from Yuder's back, brushed her teeth diligently.
She also kept taking deep breaths, trying to somehow calm her delusion-soaked brain and her heart, which was pounding so hard it now felt slightly painful.
'Okay, okay. It's fine.'
The moonlight was nice enough.
The atmosphere seemed to have a bit of a mood to it too.
'Let's do it. Let's do this.'
Cordelia, who had put away her toothbrush, steeled her heart and turned toward Yuder.
And then Yuder spoke.
"I've laid out the bedding, so let's sleep. I set up alarm magic and detection magic, so we don't really need to keep watch."
"Huh?"
"Let's sleep. You're tired, right?"
They had fought a battle, and had even run for over two hours.
In Cordelia's case, she hadn't run and had only been carried, but being carried on the back of Yuder moving at high speed was tiring in its own way.
Just like how riding a horse for a long time was exhausting.
"Then good night. Dream of me."
"Yeah, okay, good... no, not good!"
"Cordelia?"
When Yuder blinked, Cordelia answered without realizing she was getting worked up.
"No! Hey! We're just going to sleep?!"
"What else?"
"The w-wish! You have to use your wish!"
"Can't I do it later?"
"No! If it's later, I won't do it!"
When Cordelia shouted as if throwing a tantrum, Yuder blinked again, but soon nodded.
"Fine, then I'll make it now."
At Yuder's words, Cordelia flinched and swallowed dryly once more.
Her heart trembled so much that she even closed her eyes.
And then one second, then two seconds.
Yuder stated his wish.
* * *
"Hey."
"Yeah."
"Is this really your wish?"
"What, did I have to wish for something amazing?"
"Not exactly, but......."
Yuder was lying down using Cordelia's lap as a pillow, and Cordelia was cleaning Yuder's ears for him.
'This isn't quite what I expected.'
Well... it was good that he didn't cross the line. It seemed good, at least.
But what was this feeling of deflation?
This strange sense of disappointment?
"What would I make you do? This is just right. And it feels good too. I don't even know how long it's been since someone cleaned my ears for me."
"Mm."
He did have a point.
Cordelia herself had never had anyone clean her ears except when she was very young.
"Still, Yuder. Do you really like it?"
"Yeah, I like it."
"Mm... then I'll clean them for you sometimes."
"Huh? Just because?"
"Yeah, just because."
Actually, Cordelia felt indebted to Yuder in various ways, even if she hadn't said so until now.
'Yuder always cooked.'
And it wasn't just cooking.
He carried her when her legs hurt, and Yuder had prepared the bedding almost every time.
Honestly, Cordelia had been worrying about whether there was any way to repay him, since she owed him so much.
"From now on, if your ears get itchy, tell me. I'll clean them for you."
At Cordelia's declaration, Yuder spoke with a deeply moved expression.
"Our princess has all grown up, hasn't she?"
"Yes, yes, all grown up. I'm an adult, you know. So roll over. I'll do the other side."
"Yes, ma'am."
When Yuder rolled over, Cordelia swept back her falling hair and focused her attention on Yuder's ear again.
And the next morning.
Standing at the entrance of the Temple of Life hidden deep in the mountains, Yuder and Cordelia lightly clenched and unclenched their fists.
"You remember the original, right?"
"Yeah, I remember."
In the original story, Cordelia's route did not reach the Temple of Life until eight months later, so they had arrived nearly four months earlier than the original timeline.
"It might be nothing, just like the seal site of Solari where Leisegang was sealed... but still, there's always a what-if."
The Temple of Life that Yuder and Cordelia knew was the one from four months in the future.
Because of that, a situation different from what the two knew could be unfolding inside the temple.
"But Yuder."
"Yeah, Cordelia."
"If you keep saying that, it's actually more ominous. Don't you know that speaking of it makes it come true?"
"Mm, I guess so."
And since they were four months earlier than the original timeline—not four months later—there was little reason for the situation here to have changed.
"Alright, let's go then."
"Yeah, let's go."
Yuder in the front, Cordelia in the rear.
The two of them, alone but in formation, entered the cave that could be called the entrance to the temple.
And about thirty minutes later.
"Hey! I told you speaking of it would make it come true!"
"Incoming!"
"Explosion!"
Inside the temple, which had completely changed from their memories, Cordelia's magic exploded.